Urban Legends of Louisiana – The Honey Island Swamp Monster

Oh yes, the Honey Island Swamp Monster even has roots within my own family. He’s been around for a long long time but was first officially documented in 1974. Harlan Ford was the lucky one to stumble across the monster with a camera. He later added to his photographic evidence by pouring plaster into the footprints of the beast. These plaster casts were absolutely earth-shattering evidence of the creatures’ existence. Both the casts and Harlan Ford made their rounds in print media and television.

Ford was hero to the local population. For years stories of sightings circulated around family dinner tables and local pubs; those that had been assumed to have spun a tall tale were finally vindicated by Harlan’s evidence.

Since 1974, many treks have been made deep into the Honey Island swamp in search of more or new evidence of the monster’s presence. Some have returned disappointed, some returned further fueled by their experiences and still some never returned at all. There have been many recording of the creature’s agitated screeches and even more plaster casts of footprints matching those cast by Ford.

The creature is said to be in excess of 7 feet tall, the plaster casts are approximately 12 inches long, suggesting that the estimated height is possible. Those that have witnessed the monster first hand describe him as a hairy beast with yellow eyes, it also said that when the monster is near, a putrid stench follows him.

If you find yourself near Pearl River Louisiana take a detour out into the swamp but don’t go alone and be sure to have your camera handy!